No matter what decision LeBron James makes as a free agent this summer, he will have a new uniform. James has submitted paperwork with the NBA to change his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6, reports Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

James has worn No. 23 his entire NBA career but has previously sported No. 6 during international play with Team USA.

James made waves in November when he discussed his intentions to switch numbers in front of a national TV audience on TNT, explaining that he wanted the NBA to retire the No. 23 across the entire league in honor of Michael Jordan, who made the number famous during his illustrious career. But James' decision wasn't set in stone until recently, when he filed paperwork in advance of the league's Wednesday deadline for players requesting a new digit for 2010-11 season.

"I've done it," James said. "I already sent it in. I'm going to be No. 6."

The NBA doesn't technically have to honor James' request, but as Windhorst points out, there's zero chance the league will turn down the opportunity to cash in on additional jersey sales. (Of course, there will be even more sales to be had should James ultimately decide to leave Cleveland, but that's a matter for a different day.)

Some critics have scoffed at James' short-sighted view of history -- why honor Jordan by switching to Bill Russell's former number? -- but it's worth pointing out that James' intentions don't appear to be financially motivated considering he won't directly benefit from a jump in jersey sales: the players union distributes their share of merchandising dollars by seniority, not by which players generate the most sales.

As James explained in November, No. 6 holds special significance to him for a handful of reasons, including the fact that his first child was born on the sixth day of October; his second child was born in June, the sixth month of the year; and Julius Erving, his second-favorite player behind Jordan, wore the number for the majority of his career.

Source: Matt Watson, FanHouse

6? hmmm... more significant and meaningful if you can have 6 rings and mvps as well...

let's get the 1st ring this season! go cavs!